Abstract
In 2012, the four countries hosting the Svalbard population of pink-footed goose Anser brachyrhynchus along its flyway launched an International Species Management Plan for the population. One of the aims was to reduce conflicts between geese and agriculture to an acceptable level. Since 2006, Norway has offered subsidies to farmers that provide refuge areas for geese on their land. We evaluate the mid-Norwegian goose management subsidy scheme, with a view to its adjustment to prevailing ecological and socio-economic parameters. The analysis indicates that the legitimacy of the scheme is highly dependent on transparency of knowledge management and accountability of management scheme to the farming community. Among farmers, as well as front-line officials, outcomes of prioritisation processes within the scheme are judged unfair when there is an evident mismatch between payments and genuine damage. We suggest how the scheme can be made more fair and responsive to ecological changes, within a framework of adaptive management.
Highlights
Conflicts between wildlife and local human interests are significant in many parts of the world (Patterson 1991; Redpath et al 2013; Tveraa et al 2014; Shackelford et al 2015)
The high-Arctic Svalbard-breeding population of the pink-footed goose Anser brachyrhynchus has successfully adapted to landscapes modified by intensive agriculture outside the breeding area (Van Roomen and Madsen 1992; Fox et al 2005; Chudzinska et al 2015)
We further examine the relationship between the growth of the pink-footed goose population and the amount of subsidies allocated from the scheme
Summary
Conflicts between wildlife and local human interests are significant in many parts of the world (Patterson 1991; Redpath et al 2013; Tveraa et al 2014; Shackelford et al 2015). The high-Arctic Svalbard-breeding population of the pink-footed goose Anser brachyrhynchus has successfully adapted to landscapes modified by intensive agriculture outside the breeding area (Van Roomen and Madsen 1992; Fox et al 2005; Chudzinska et al 2015). Pink-footed geese make use of two major spring staging areas in Norway: Vesteralen in Nordland, where they solely forage on pastures (Tombre et al 2010), and Nord-Trøndelag, where they forage on a mixture of stubble fields, pastures and newly sown cereal fields (Madsen et al 1997; Madsen 2001; Tombre et al 2008a, b; Chudzinska et al 2015). Foraging on waste grain in stubble fields causes no problems for agriculture, but spring foraging on new growth grass causes substantial yield reduction (Bjerke et al 2013)
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